More scams targeting senior citizens

Jeff Hawkins recently attended the Illinois State Bar Association's Second Annual Elder Law Boot Camp continuing education program in Chicago, where Joseph H. McMahon and Diana M. Law presented a session on trends in elder law abuse. This article showcases some of the frightening ways that crooks take advantage of older people and why they are so successful.

McMahon and Law said many senior citizens are more vulnerable to scams than younger people because they:

* Trust people who display authority

* Spend time at home alone

* Read all of their mail

* Keep money at home

* Are hesitant to call police

* Fear hospitalization and nursing home admission

* Dread court involvement

* Are too embarrassed to tell their children about fraud

* Fear newspaper publication of their names

Some of the scams committed on people these days include:

* Fake caller from Medicare, Life Alert, or a bank claiming to need the checking account number or credit card number, with date of birth or Social Security number for "security confirmation purposes"

* Fake caller claiming that a grandchild or other family member is in jail and needs bail money sent by a wire transfer through Walmart

* Money transfer frauds stating victim won a prize, business opportunities or a relative is in trouble

* Caller claiming a debt is owed and threatening utility shut off or arrest

* A new phone app called Spoofcard.com that enables a fake caller spoof the name of a legitimate person or company on caller ID (such as a grandchild, IRS or a local bank) and carry out any of the foregoing fraud strategies

Another frightening trend is when crooks will show up on a person's doorstep dressed as utility workers, public employees, or other ordinarily trustworthy people, requested admission to the house to do their work, and then physically abuse and rob the trusting elderly people.

Attractive and charming manipulators have used old strategy to take advantage of older people for centuries. The manipulators will behave charmingly and enticingly toward their intended victims and build a trusting relationship very quickly. Older men show particular vulnerability to young female manipulators who display flirtatious interest in their lonely, red-blooded victims. These scammers typically rush the relationship development faster than normal relationships normally evolve and overwhelm their victims before the victims' common sense detect what is really happening.

The old saying that something that seems too good to be true is probably too good to be true never grows old. If someone contacts you unexpectedly, you usually have time to call someone and verify whether the contact is legitimate. If a stranger or relatively unknown person seeks intimate friendship too quickly, it is probably a warning sign of crooked behavior. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and Jeff is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in Indiana, and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in Illinois. Jeff is also a registered civil mediator and the 2014-15 President of the Indiana State Bar Association.